Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

Describes the fundamentals of setting up a complete mixing and mastering environment

Provides the essentials on mixing and mastering gear

Offers detailed and practical instructions on how to develop the skill set needed for mixing

Gives important tips on honing the specialized listening skills behind final masters

Reveals the secrets of collaborating with professional musicians on mixes and masters

Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

Description

Mixing and mastering are the final challenges in creating great recordings. Great mixes require both creativity and a practical understanding of process, while final masters require both a clear sense for purpose and specialized ears for achieving artistic goals. Mixing and Mastering in the Box gives readers the practical tools for accomplishing both of these tasks while highlighting the artistry of the creative process. While much of the information presented in Mixing and Mastering in the Box is applicable to those using analog mixing gear, or a hybrid of digital and analog tools, the book focuses directly on working completely within the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Author Steve Savage lets readers in on such topics as the secrets of collaboration and using
EQ, compression, delay, reverb, and brickwall limiting to improve the sound of records, each topic illustrated with a myriad of concrete examples.

Mixing and Mastering in the Box is the ultimate reference manual for the home recordist and the perfect basic to intermediate text for any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) training class in mixing or mastering. The book is also ideal for readers who handle their own mixing and mastering or who wish - or are professionally required - to be better informed when collaborating on mixes and masters.

Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

Table of Contents

ContentsIntroductionPart I - Mixing & MasteringIntroduction to Part I 1. The Starting Point1.1 Preparing to mix and master1.2 Where to mix and master1.3 The tools of mixing and mastering1.4 Introduction to the 2. Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters: Five best practices2.1 Have a concept2.2 Monitor level2.3 Monitoring options2.4 Revise, revise, revise2.5 Live with your mix or master3. Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters: Four common mistakes3.1 Poor control of the low end3.2 Overly bright mixes and masters3.3 Overly compressed mixes and masters3.4 Trusting inadequate monitoring

PART III - MasteringIntroduction to part III 9. Setting Up to Master: Tools and files9.1 Tools9.2 Creating a template9.3 Building the timeline10. How to Listen for Mastering: From your ear to action10.1 Level10.2 Frequency/EQ10.3 Dynamics and effects10.4 Consistency11. Creating a Master: The concepts and tools in detail11.1 Creating a reference track11.2 Processing: EQ11.3 Processing: Level11.4 Processing:
Dynamics and effects11.5 What else is in the box?12. The Final Master: Creating and delivering12.1 Creating a master12.2 Formats and delivery options13. Mastering Collaboration: The mastering team13.1 How to talk about mastering13.2 Levels of mastering intervention13.3 Managing remote mastering projects Addendum I: Notes on surround mixing and mastering Addendum II: Why mixing and mastering can no longer be separated

Index

Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

Author Information

An active producer, recording engineer, and music technology instructor, Steve Savage has been the primary engineer on seven Grammy-nominated CDs. He is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Digital Audio Recording: A Practical Guide for Home and Studio (OUP, 2011) and Bytes & Backbeats: Repurposing Audio in the Digital Age (Michigan, 2011).

Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

Reviews and Awards

"Steve Savage is not only a superb music producer, mixer and mastering engineer, but also an excellent educator and communicator. His books manage to cover the most complex aspects of music production in a manner that is engaging and clear, bringing expert insight to both beginners and advanced music makers. Steve manages to find a perfect blend between discussing the creative and technical aspects of music technology, whilst keeping things concise, relevant and up to date. Everyone interested in creating and producing music can learn something from Steve Savage!" --Dr. Rob Toulson, Music Producer and Director of the Cultures of the Digital Economy Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge UK

"Steve and I have worked on countless records together; he's mixed and mastered most of the records I've produced, including my own. He also taught me a lot about mixing and mastering - he's one of those rare guys who works at a very high level but can also explain what it is he's doing and why. If you want to know more about making your recorded music sound better, get this book!" --Bonnie Hayes, Chair of Songwriting, Berklee College of Music

Mixing and Mastering in the Box

The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

Steve Savage

From Our Blog

Checking the website for the upcoming Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Los Angeles, I took note of the swipes promoting the event. Each heading was framed as follows: If it's about it's at AES. The slide show contained nine headings that are to be a part of the upcoming convention (in no particular order because you start at whatever point in the slide show you happened to log-in to the site).